SB60 Alabama 2017 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Gerald H. AllenSenator

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2017

Title

Memorial Preservation Act, monuments 40 years and older on public property prohibited from relocation or removal, monuments 20 to 40 years old required to get permission of Committee on Alabama Monument Protection, members, waivers, fines, exemptions

Summary

SB60 creates the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act to protect monuments on public property by restricting changes to older monuments, establishing a waiver process, and creating a new monument protection committee.

What This Bill Does

It bars relocation, removal, alteration, renaming, or other disturbance of monuments on public property that have been in place 20+ years unless a waiver or court permission is granted. For monuments under 20 years, changes require a waiver through the new Committee on Alabama Monument Protection. The act also restricts renaming of memorial streets (15+ years) and certain memorial buildings/personnel and creates a process for waivers with potential penalties for violations, along with exemptions for specific categories and properties.

Who It Affects

• Public entities that own or manage public property with monuments (state, counties, municipalities, universities, utilities, the Department of Transportation, and the Alabama State Port Authority) will need to seek waivers for certain changes and must protect and maintain monuments.
• The general public and preservation/historical groups who participate in the waiver process, provide commentary, and are affected by decisions to rename streets or alter monuments.

Key Provisions

• Monuments on public property 20+ years old may not be relocated, removed, altered, renamed, or disturbed without court permission.
• Monuments under 20 years old may be relocated or altered only as provided through the waiver process (Section 6).
• Memorial streets 15+ years old may not be renamed without a waiver from the committee.
• Architecturally significant buildings 20+ years old may not be relocated or altered without court permission; younger ones require a waiver.
• Memorial buildings may be renovated or maintained, but their names cannot be changed except through a waiver.
• A new Committee on Alabama Monument Protection is created to oversee waivers, with specified members and duties; it may grant waivers and set conditions to preserve monuments.
• Violations, such as removing a protected monument without a waiver or not complying with waiver conditions, can result in a $25,000 fine per violation, collected by the Attorney General and deposited into the Alabama State Historic Preservation Fund.
• Waiver applications must include required documentary materials and public/heritage commentary; the absence of new facts can be a presumption against granting a waiver; waivers can include preservation conditions.
• Exemptions include art and artifacts in museums, certain monuments on property controlled by DOT, counties, municipalities, universities, utilities, and the Alabama State Port Authority under limited circumstances.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Monuments